Motor-vehicle signaling device



c. H. GRI NGS.

MOTOR VEHICLE SIGNALING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED NH 10. 1920.

Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Ap 5,1921.

Application filed July 10, 1920. serial No. 395,304.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CASPER Huoo GRIN GS, a citizen of the United States of Amerlca,

and a resident of Waterloo, Blackhawkcounty, Iowa, have invented certain new and. useful Improvements in Motor-Vehicle Signaling Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in motor-vehicle signaling devices, and the object of my improvement is to supply for such or any other vehicles a signaling apparatus of simple and inexpensive construction, easily mounted on or demounted from the vehicle,.readily accessible for the chauffeur or driver for manual actuation, and which will not interfere with any use of the vehicle, noremplacements of parts thereof.

broken away; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of a portion of the vehicle door or part on which the device is removably mounted, showing the cooperating actuating elementspartly in plan and partly in section, with parts broken away; Fig. 4: is an elevat on of the housing for the outer actuating ,ele ments of the device, andFig. 5 is a cross section of the hollow bolt and contained rocksha-ft, taken through the L-part of the slot in said bolt. 7 p

In said drawings, like numerals of refer ence denote like parts throughout the several figures. j' 7 My improved signaling apparatus may be removably mounted upon any fixed orjmovable structure of a vehicle, but as shown herein, it is mounted upon the door 18 of the vehicle-body 36, where its operating handle 11 may be within convenient access to the operator. .Before so mounting the device, it is merely necessary to make a transverse hole 19 in the door 18 to receive a headed hollow bolt 5, the bolt being exteriorly threaded throughout most of its length, so thatit may be usedon doors or other supporting-means of different thicknesses. As shown in. Fig. 3, a hollow houslng 21 is mounted upon the outside'of the door and has an opening topermit the passage of a bolt 5 therethrough whose head is clamped thereagainst by the "action of a nut 17 on the opposite end of the bolt which compresses a large intermediate washer 16 against the opposite'side of the door.. Said bolt .has a longitudinal slot 8 terminating toward the inner face of the door in a short angularly directed part 9. w The'numeral l denotes a shaft-which is mounted within thehollow of said bolt to rock therein,.=and also for longitudinal reciprocatory movements therein,and projects at, both ends from, the bolt. The end of said shaft which extends into the housing 21 has 7 a relatively large discoidal head 2 provided wlth ashort coaxial arcuate slot3." A. pin

4 extendsoutwardly fixedly from the inner wall. of thecasing :21 underlying the door,

between said wall and the opposite face of the discoidal head 2, and thrusts outwardly evenly thereon. The inner, end of the shaft 1 ,is diminished and squared at.10 to receive adjustably the bearing end 12 of a crank handle 11 supplied with a terminal 5 or positions. on said shaft, as convenient or desired. Theend of the shaft is provided ,.fingerhol'd 15. This permits the handle to i V be mounted adjustably in any one of four with a stillmore diminished and threaded i extremity; 14 to receive the nut 13. r I V Within the housing 21 is fixed vertically spaced bracket members 23 and 27 with their integral connecting plate 26, and the said members are .orificed in vertical alinement to receive the'vertical rock-shaft 25 having on its upper end an angularly bent crank or contact member 24. This crank extends into the pathof movement inwardly of the discoidal head 2. At a distance below the lower member 27, said shaft 25 is bent at a right angle at 32, the latter part projecting outwardly through a" horizontal slot 22 in said housing. This part 32 may form a short terminally threaded sectionr of a twopart semaphore-arm 33, the latter also threaded and removably connected to the I part 32 by a sleeve-nut 34.. This permits the arm 33 to be demounted when desired. On the outer end of the arm 33 is mounted a discoidal semaphore body 35.

The numeral 28 denotes acoiled spring mounted on a shaft below the bracket member 27, and has one terminal 30 secured head 2 of the shaft 1.

When the crank arm 11 is pulled inwardly, it not only causes the head 2 to compress the spring 20, but said head also engagingly rocks the crank-arm 24: inwardly, thus rocking horizontally outwardly the arm 33 and the semaphore while placing the other spring 28 also under tension. When the crank arm 11 is released, the reaction of said spring will simultaneously thrust said shaft outwardly, but will also rock the arm 33 inwardly to its retracted position. The numeral 7 denotes a short pin fixed on the shaft 1 to extend into the longitudinal slot 8 in the bolt 5 terminating just short of the roots of the threads thereon to not interfere with the adjustable seating of the nut '17 upon the bolt. The pin 7 is so positioned on the shaft 1 that when the latter has been-reciprocated inwardly to its limit of movement in that direction, said pin will be opposite the lateral slot 9, so that if the arm 11 is rocked in one direction a short distance,said pin will become engaged with the walls of the slot 9 to releasably lock the phore.

'ters Patent, is

shaft to the bolt, thus holding the semaphore 35 in its outward or signaling position. the pin 7 so that said springs will again extend the shaft 1 and also retract the sema- The slot 3 in the head 2 permits this rocking displacement'ofv the head 2 relative to the fixed pin 4. i o

It will bev seen that this device is very simple, inexpensive, and easily mountedor demounted. V

Slight variations in the elements of the device, their positions,arrangements, dimensions, or'otherwise, are nevertheless covered by the scope of this invention.v

Having vdescribed invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Let- 1. In a device of the characterdescribed, a shaft having a discoidal head, said shaft being mounted to' rock on and for longitudinal reciprocation relative to a vehicle,"a semaphore mounted pivotally on said vehicle to rock horizontally and having a crank Reversely rocking the arm 11 releases arm positioned in the path of reciprocatory movement and in contact with the said discoidal head, yieldable resilient means oper able upon said discoidal head in one direetion, andother yieldable resilient means operable upon said semaphore to yieldingly retain it in contact with said discoidal head. i

2. In a device of the character described, a shaft having a discoidal head, said shaft being mounted to rock on and for longitudinal reciprocation relative to a vehicle, 'a semaphore mounted pivotally on said vehicle to rock'horizontally and having a crankarm positioned in the path of reciprocatory movement and'in contact with the said discoidal head, yieldable resilient means operable upon said discoidal head in one direction, other yieldable resilient means operable upon said semaphore to yieldingly retain it in contact with said discoidal head, and means for limiting the scope of rocking movements of said shaft.

3. In a device of the character described,

a shaft having a'discoidal head, said shaft.

4. In a device of the character described,

a shaft having a discoidal head, said shaft being mounted to rock on and for loi1gitudinal reciprocation relative to a vehicle, a semaphore mounted pivotallyon said vehicle positioned in the path of reciprocatory HOVQIIlGIIi) and in contact with the said dis,- coidal head, yieldable resilient means operable upon said discoidal head in one directo rock horizontally and having a crank-arm tion, other yieldable resilient means oper able upon said semaphoreto yieldingly retam it in contact with said discoidal head,

means for limiting the scope "of rocking movements of said shaft,and means for releasably locking said shaft in a certain position of reciprocation. I I

5; In a device of the characterdescribed, a shaft having a discoidal head, said shaft being mountedto rock on and for longitudinal reciprocation relative to avehicle, a

semaphore mounted pivotally on said vehicle to rockhorizontally and having a crankarm posi'tioned'in the path of reciprocatory movement and in contact with the'said dis- I 7 coidal head, yieldable-resilient means'operable upon said discoidal head in one direction, other yieldable resilient means oper able upon said semaphore to yieldingly retain it in contact With said discoidal head, and a hand-hold removably adjustably secured upon the inner end of said reciprocable shaft.

6. In a device of the character described, a longitudinally hollowed exteriorly-threaded bolt secured removably adjustably in a transverse opening in a vehicle supporting member, a longitudinally reciprocatory rockshaft secured removably in the hollow of said bolt to project at both ends thereof, an operating crank-handle adjustably removably secured upon the inner end of said shaft, said shaft having a discoidal head upon its outer end provided with a coaxial arcuate slot, a fixed pin on said supporting member sion spring mounted on said pin and bear ing against said discoidal head, said bolt having an L-shaped slot and said shaft having a stud extending into said slot, a semaphore arm mounted pivotally on said supporting member to rock to and from it hori- Zontally and having a crank-arm extending into the path of movement of and contacting the inner surface of said discoid'al head, and yieldable resilient means connected to said semaphore adapted to yieldingly retain it in a retracted position abutting upon said vehicle.

Signed at Waterloo, of July, 1920.

' CASPER HUGO GRINGS.

Iovva, this 1st day 

